


Hotel California

by JustAnotherWriter (N1ghtshade)



Series: Advent Calendar Gift Fics [16]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, Vampire hunters AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 16:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17025945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/pseuds/JustAnotherWriter
Summary: When Mac and Jack investigate a hotel with a reputation for suspicious activity...and for the disappearance of every vampire hunter who has ever been sent to it...they run into a bigger problem than they bargained on...





	Hotel California

**Author's Note:**

  * For [just_another_outcast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_outcast/gifts).



Jack swings the GTO off the highway, following the faded, vintage sign that reads, “Hotel California”. 

“Cheesy or what, huh kid?”

“Vampires like dramatics,” Mac mutters, running his fingers obsessively over a small chip on the dashboard surface. “They tend to appreciate the cliches.”

“We’ve been working together for five years and somehow you still think you need to become the walking vampire encyclopedia every time I make a throwaway comment.” Jack chuckles. “That was a rhetorical question.”

He’s trying to keep it light, act like this is any other hunt. Like nothing’s changed. But he’s just lying to himself, and to Mac.

Ever since Murdoc, Mac’s been different. Jack can’t blame him, the kid’s been through hell in his short life, and he was already messed up, badly, when he first joined the Phoenix. But that freaky vampire seriously messed him up. Jack hopes that miserable creature is feeling just a fraction of what he put Mac through. Matty’s assured them all that Murdoc will be rotting in a cell for the foreseeable rest of his un-life. It’s not nearly enough, not for what he did, but it’s all they’re going to be able to legally get. 

Jack turns the car into a driveway outside a tall, rambling building that honestly looks like the set of a B-grade vampire movie. The sun’s just slipped below the horizon and Jack puts on the brakes when a light appears from the door, moving into the road in front of them. A woman, her dark hair pulled up behind her head in a ponytail, holding an old-fashioned candlestick.  _ Wow, this really does feel like we just drove into a classic horror movie.  _

The woman only shields her eyes from the glow of the sun-mimic lights.  _ Not a vamp. Human. _ “Looking for a place to stop over for the night?”

“Yeah. Is this place even open?”

“Oh, we’re always open.” She smiles, and it’s a little too inviting. “You can park your car around back, and then come check in at the front desk.” She steps back inside and Jack glances at Mac, who’s gone stiff and looks more than a little frightened.

“Host fangs. She has host fangs,” Mac whispers.

“I didn’t see nothin’.” But Jack’s not going to discount his partner’s instincts. “How do you know?”

“Blood on her tongue,” Mac says bluntly. “Those fangs are razor sharp, and until you’re used to them you cut yourself. A lot.”  _ I wish he didn’t know that from experience. _ Medical was able to successfully file the fangs slightly, making them blunt and less immediately visible, but the fact remains that those teeth are longer than the rest, and it’s always going to be apparent to anyone who really knows Mac. 

“So she’s probably a recent acquisition?”

“Or she wears a mouthpiece most of the time to hide them. Which would explain why she’s not used to them even if she’s been a host for a long time. I doubt a vampire would let someone new be the point of contact.” 

Jack nods. He pulls his car around into a lot behind the hotel. Usually the GTO stands out like a sore thumb in a parking lot, but Jack does a double take at the sight of this lot. Toward the front are some newer model cars, but in the back it looks like a classic car dealership. Jack wanders over to investigate. 

“Some of these cars are from the sixties, Mac.”

“ _ Your  _ car is from the sixties.”

“Very funny. I mean, like, these cars haven’t left here since then.” Jack runs a finger through the dust; there isn’t much. Someone keeps this place clean. “This vampire’s been operating for a while.”

It doesn’t take much time to locate the car registered to a “Johnathan Andres”, a businessman who went missing up here a few days ago. It was the first attack to have a witness, the man’s mistress, who was planning to meet him at the remote setting. She arrived at the hotel a few hours after he did, and happened to see him looking out a window when she drove up, his neck covered in blood and some of the same smeared on his mouth. She drove away in a panic, and now the Phoenix is investigating. There were always rumors of vampires operating up here, but nothing had been proven. And anyone who went to investigate never came back. 

Jack glances back up the driveway; there’s something obstructing his view now...It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark. When he sees it, he blinks. A massive wrought-iron gate has closed silently behind them. As a matter of fact, the whole lot is fenced in, with the huge black bars almost disappearing in the gloom. 

The only way out is through the hotel.

When Jack opens the door, the same woman who greeted them out front is sitting at the desk. The walls are dimly lit with huge sconces, the crystal glass around them a sharp crimson. 

“I’ll have to ask you to lay your weapons on the counter,” the woman says. Jack reluctantly hands over his whip, his gun, and the aspen stake from his boot. He can see crimson eyes glinting in the darkness, and hear hisses. They’re surrounded. This isn’t one vampire’s lair, this is a coven’s hideout. Mac sets his stake on the counter as well, following Jack’s lead. Neither of them are giving up their backup stakes, the ones in the pockets over their chests, unless they’re forced to. 

The woman doesn’t seem to notice that both of them are still armed. She tucks the weapons below the counter and hands each of them a key, tapping on the sign on the window that displays prices. There’s no mention of the length of the day, just the size of the room. Jack insists on a double room, with Mac. He’s not letting the kid out of his sight in a vamp lair. Plus, Mac still has his knapsack, which probably has everything they need to get back out of this place.  

“Before I can give you a room, the manager would like to meet you.” The woman steps out from around the desk. “She likes to personally greet every one of her guests.” They’re led down a red-and-black carpeted hallway to a room with huge doors. Jack feels a slight shiver run down his spine. The eyes are still following them. 

The doors fly open to reveal a massive dining room. At the head of the far table, a woman stands, her blood-red lipstick matching her dress, her soft blond curls a stunning contrast to the sharp white fangs protruding below her lips.

“She’s ancient,” Mac whispers. Jack swears the kid has some sort of vampire spidey sense now. 

“Welcome, hunters.” Her voice has a soft southern purr, the kind that reminds Jack vaguely of home. Although she sounds more eastern, likely from Louisiana. New Orleans has a massive vampire population, even bigger than LA. “I hope you find your stay at the Hotel California a delightful one.” She smiles wider, fangs clearly bared. “Because neither of you will be leaving. It’s such a pleasure to finally meet the legends. Jack Dalton and MacGyver, the little fae. The whole Nightlife community in California knows who you are. And to show up on my doorstep…well, if my heart was still beating, it would be pounding right now.”

“Well, at least give us the courtesy of putting a name to the face of the jailor,” Jack says; clearly she’s one for dramatics and a bit of flirtation. 

“I’ve gone by many names, hunter. But I suppose I do collect my favorites. Why don’t you call me Dawn, sugar?”

“Well, Dawn, do you think you could extend a couple ‘legends’ like ourselves a professional courtesy and let us walk back out of here?”

“Unfortunately, if I break my rules, word would get out that I’m getting soft in my old age.” Dawn laughs. “I can’t have that. The one thing a vampire truly needs is the respect of her fellow night folk. So I’m afraid both of you will be required to remain as permanent residents. However, I will offer you the courtesy of choosing whether you will be a host, or turned.” Beside Jack, Mac makes a quiet, horrified gasp.  _ He’s reliving everything that happened with Murdoc.  _ The kid was that freaky vamp’s host for almost three months. Jack has the feeling Dawn would be far less of a sadist, but being host to any vampire is unthinkable, especially for a hunter. And to be turned…

“Of course, that courtesy is extended only to you, Jack. You’re human.” Dawn turns to look at Mac, and Jack’s hand goes unconsciously for his stake.  _ If she touches him, she dies. I don’t care what happens to me because of it. _ But Dawn isn’t staring at Mac with the creepy lustfulness Murdoc had. There’s more of a cool, detached curiosity. 

“I have no use for a fae. I have no desire to walk the daylight hours. I prefer pleasure to pain, and the light in your blood would burn too much to be truly worth enjoying. But I suppose you could be useful, and possibly entertaining. You certainly won’t be allowed to leave.” The woman smiles, tossing her blond hair. “Now Jack, you I like, sweetheart.”

She gestures to two young female vampires sitting at the table near her. “Take the fae to his room. Leave the human with me.” 

* * *

Mac shudders.  _ Please leave me alone. _ He can’t stop shaking, because who’s to say this “Dawn” won’t change her mind about wanting to be a daywalker? That she won’t use him just like Murdoc did? He shivers at the thought of being a host again, of being drained of his magic without a second thought, of being used to give a bloodthirsty creature the ability to roam the days as well as nights.

The two vampires assigned to escort him to the room are staring hungrily at his neck. He shudders. His touch and his blood will burn them, not as badly as silver, but still painfully. Murdoc was twisted enough to enjoy it. But Dawn seems to collect a crowd like her, creatures with epicurean tastes who are interested only in pure pleasure, not in enduring pain to get it. 

One of the vampire girls, the slightly taller of the two, with dark skin and long straight black hair trails a blood-red fingernail down his sleeved arm. “You look like you’d fit right in here. Let me show you around. Might as well make yourself comfortable, it’s home now.”

“I r-really…” He mentally curses his stupid voice, did it have to crack and let them all know how scared he is? They’re going to eat him alive. Literally. “Please…”

“Oh, you don’t have to beg, darling.” The red-haired girl; she looks his age but the dress she’s wearing says she was turned in the 1970s, chuckles. “She sent you with us because we know how to have a good time.”

“I don’t want…” he chokes on the words. “Please don’t touch me.” Both vamps blink, and Mac’s terrified that they’re going to come in for the kill now. They know he’s vulnerable, scared, weak. They’ll tear him apart.

But they’re actually backing off. He stares, backing himself against the wall, shivering.  _ What are they doing? _

“What…” his stupid voice is still not cooperating. 

“Our job is to make sure you have a good time here.” The brunette says. “If that’s not your idea of one...” She shrugs. He’s not sure whether to trust them or not.  _ What if they’re trying to make me feel safe, just so they can hurt me? _ He can’t quite believe that any vampires would be so willing to back off? Murdoc wouldn’t, not even when Mac practically begged to be left alone.

“I just want to go to my room. And sleep,” he mutters weakly. 

“Alright, then we’ll take you and get back to the party. As long as you’re certain.” He can only nod. And when the heavy wooden door swings shut behind him, he locks it and sinks to the ground, trembling.  _ They’re really gone. They left me alone. They didn’t hurt me. _

He immediately feels a rush of guilt.  _ I’m safe, but that vampire took Jack. She’s going to turn him into a host just like Murdoc did to me. And she wants what he did, too. _ Mac isn’t a stranger to the hunger in her eyes, a hunger even more than bloodlust.  _ I have to figure out a way to help Jack.  _ He starts thinking, but there are a lot of vampires in this place and only one him. He’s got a sun-mimic light, a little canister of garlic powder...there’s a vent in the floor, where the heating system probably blows through. Maybe if he can get the powder in the vents...it’s a long shot of a plan but there’s a fan in the room and maybe he can blow enough of the powder through the system to at least cause some chaos.

There’s a clatter at the window that makes him jump, dropping the garlic powder and the fan.  _ I’ve been caught.  _ He immediately begins to shiver.  _ They’re going to punish me. I shouldn’t have tried to do anything. _ There’s no way to explain this away.  _ And Jack won’t even be able to come help me.  _

* * *

Dawn’s delicate fingers are deceptively strong. Jack’s not going to be able to break her grip on his wrist easily. She pulls him out of the dining room, up a decrepit set of stairs, and to another set of large double doors that Jack figures is one of the master suites, probably her lair.

She throws the doors open with inhuman strength and pulls Jack inside, practically flinging him onto the bed, She tugs off his shoes, then climbs up beside him, planting slow kisses on his neck while her hands fumble with his jacket, shoving it off his shoulders. 

He can’t let her take his shirt too, or she’ll see the stake and then he’s done for. Right now she’s just playing with her food. Sooner or later she’s going to bite him. But it’s clear she’s distracted and enjoying herself, because he’s not making much of an effort to fight back. If he can just get his stake without her noticing…

He reaches up, acting like he’s about to remove his shirt himself, when she does the unexpected; her kiss moves from his neck to his lips, and that effectively pins his hand. He’s going to just have to push her back.

And then her whole body goes rigid and she gasps, pulling away from him. Her hand is on her throat and she’s shaking. Her crimson lips are swelling slightly...it looks like the allergic reaction vampires have to garlic. And then he remembers the stop on the way up, the gas station pizza he and Mac bought that had them both hunting the nearest rest stop down the road. The sauce had tasted strongly of garlic. 

Dawn collapses sideways on the bed, her eyes wide and accusing before they slip closed. She’ll wake up in a few minutes or hours, depending on how badly she reacts to the stuff, but it gives him time to get away. Jack rushes to the window, opens it, and climbs out onto the small porch roof that runs across the front of the hotel, fishing his and Mac’s room key out of his pocket. 

Jack looks at the room number on the key, he knows they passed it coming down the hall to the suite. He counts backward, moving along the roof until he gets to the kid’s window. He taps on the glass and Mac panics, dropping whatever he was doing and cringing. He probably thinks Jack is one of the vampires and that he got caught in the middle of whatever crazy escape plan he was concocting. When he realizes it’s Jack, he rushes over, flinging open the window and climbing out. 

Mac is shivering, but he doesn’t look any the worse for wear. No blood, no bite marks. Jack’s surprised no one’s come looking yet, and that this place is proving fairly easy to escape, but he guesses most people who come here don’t make it this far without becoming hosts, and hosts can’t leave their vampire masters. There’s no point in securing the place against escape when the people inside don’t want to leave. 

There  _ is  _ a vamp patrolling the length of the driveway. They’ll have to wait until he’s distracted to make their move. 

“How’d you get away from her?”

“I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that pizza. Guess she couldn’t stand my garlic breath.” 

They wait until the vamp turns his back on the house to investigate some strange rustling in the scrubby weeds near the parking lot, and slide down from the roof, slipping away into the night.

They walk all the way to the road, which leaves Jack with very sore feet and a creeping chill from the desert night air. It’s a while until they flag down a car, because there isn’t much traffic and any drivers out this late at night are hesitant to pick up two random men. When they finally do get a ride, in the back of a farmer’s old pickup, Jack feels Mac snuggle up against him, still shuddering slightly. But when he puts his arm around the kid’s shoulder, his breathing evens out and he drifts off to sleep, knowing he’s safe. 

* * *

It’s less than a week later that the letter arrives in Jack’s mailbox at the Phoenix. He doesn’t usually get mail here, most of his is delivered to the apartment and only his official work-related documents come here. He pulls out the thick, creamy colored envelope and studies it.

Jack frowns. The handwriting is far too fancy to be anyone he knows, all the loops and swirls are so precise. And the ink looks suspiciously like blood.

He carefully rips open the top of the letter with his duty knife. 

_ You are one of the few humans to have outsmarted me. Congratulations, Jack Dalton. You’ve earned my respect. I hope to see you again someday. _

There’s a bloodred lipstick print at the bottom. Jack grins.  When the Tac team responded to his and Mac’s report of what was happening at the Hotel California, they found the place cleared out. No vamps, no cars, nothing. There’s no return address on the letter, only a small fleur-de-lis stamped in the corner. Jack shakes his head.  _ Guess she went back to New Orleans. And wants me to know where to find her. _

When Mac walks in, Jack tucks the letter back into his mailbox. He doesn’t need anyone else to know Dawn’s whereabouts just yet. Not until he decides what he’s going to do about it.


End file.
